Dark Betrayal
(excerpt from the 'The Kingship Wars' - the first volume in the 'Silver Wolf' series.)
Barcos headed towards where the prince should have been. He hurried as best he could, stepping over bodies that had been torn apart and fighting off the clutching hands of dying, pleading men. Sickened, he tried to be oblivious to their pain, tried to block out their desperate, agonized cries. He knew he could not save them. Like lambs to the slaughterhouse, they had been led to their deaths. It angered him, but he desperately fought to control the rage that he could feel building up deep inside him. He was acutely aware that to give in to his anger, to allow his bestial fury to surface and take over, would result in his transformation into a wild, battle crazed bear. This he could not afford to happen - not now! For it would spell his death! His only chance of survival was to remain human, but to do so he would have to ignore his human emotions!
A terrified, riderless horse, its' eyes rolling in fright, galloped towards him, scattering men and crushing those too slow (or unable) to move, under its' heavy hooves. Barcos reached out as the animal approached him, his strong hands grabbing its' halter. The beast reared in panic, causing the berserker to tighten his grip as he struggled to maintain his hold. As he did so, his wolf ring was pushed against the horse's soft skin. The silver band glowed, radiating a heat that flowed through Barcos's hand and along his arm. The horse immediately quieted, though its' eyes still held a hint of fear. Gathering up the reins, Barcos swung his immense bulk effortlessly into the saddle. Wheeling the horse, he kicked it into a canter.
Another of the fiendish hellhounds leapt in front of him, startling his moount which struck out at the slobbering demon with flailing hooves. Barcos leaned over the horse's neck and brought the hilt of his sword down hard upon the devil creature's head, knocking it to the ground. Urging his horse forward before the hellhound could recover, he continued to make his way to Kyriell.
A dark shape abruptly loomed up from the darkness. As barcos neared, he saw it was the young prince who was vainly trying to fend off one of the hellish dogs.The demon had ripped open the neck of the prince's mount and the smell of the fresh blood had driven it into a frenzy. Snarling, it was tearing the dying horse's flesh from its' bones, ignoring the desperate stab wounds Kyriell was inflicting upon it.
Barcos hastily sheathed his sword and loosened his mighty battle-axe. he swung the deadly weapon downward in a wide arc. the sharp blade connected with the hellhound's neck, easily slicing through the bone to send the creature's head flying into the night. The body dropped to the ground. reaching over, the warrior grabbed the astonished prince and roughly pulled him from the saddle as his dying horse fell to its knees.
"Hold on!" Barcos barked as Kyriell pulled himself up behind the mucular berserker.
Looking around, Barcos tried to find an avenue of escape. He had no desire to enter the forest - the closeness of the trees would be a deathtrap, especially in the dark. He could follow the road further into the woods, but he had no idea how many hellhounds there were. They were capable of outrunning a horse and if he was faed with another pack, he didn't think he would stand a chance. His only option was to go back, to get out of the forest and find open ground where he would be able to put up a defense. But to do that, he would have to fight his way back through the mass of bodies and men. But it was his only choice.
"My uncle! We have to find my uncle!" Kyriell shouted, jerking on Barcos's cape to get his attention.
"What?" Distracted, the big man twisted in the saddle to face the prince.
"My uncle! Earl Walter! We have to find him!" Kyriell repeated. As though remembering his rank, the prince added vehemently, "I order you to find him!"
"You order me?" Barcos stared incredulously, his eyes narrowed in anger, his voice became cold and hard, "M'lord, you are in no position to order me! Your uncle will have to fend for himself. Right now, my main concern is to get you to safety."
Ignoring kyriell's protests, barcos swung his horse around. A soldier fell across his path, screaming in agony as a hellhound tore open his stomach and began feeding on his warm intestines. Barcos lifted his battle-axe again, but before he could bring it down upon the ghastly creature, he heard a loud growl from behind him. realizing the prince had fallen silent, the berserker twisted around. he looked past Kyriell's horrified face and into the blood red eyes of the demon he had decapitated only moments before.
Barcos cursed as he realized his mistake. In his concern for the prince, he had failed to burn the hellhound's heart. The evil beast had now regenrated its head, and was set upon continuing its attack.
"Gods! We're surrounded!" Kyriell suddenly yelled in dismay.
As more red eyes appeared out of the blackness, Barcos saw that the prince was right. But the berserker was not one to go down without a fight! Beads of perspiration dripped from his taut muscles as he prepared to fend the beasts off. They were closing in on him now, toying with him, knowing that he had nowhere to go. One of them, a massive creature whose head was almost level with the horse's shoulder, curled its lips into a snarl thar reminded Barcos of a sickening smile. It tensed it's body, then leapt.
Barcos swung his axe, but the blade whistled through thin air, for there was suddenly nothing for it to connect with. Staring incredulously, Barcos saw that the hellhound had fallen to the ground, its' heart pierced by a flaming arrow. Within seconds, its' body evaporated into a shower of dust. before the warrior could make sense of this, a second fiery missile flew out from the trees and found its mark in the heart of another beast. This was followed by a huge fireball that erupted from the darkness to envelop several of the demons at once.
"What's happening?" Kyriell cried out in confusion, bewildered by the turn of events.
Barcos steadied his mount and faced the prince with a grim smile.
"The cavalry has arrived, M'lord." he replied, unable to keep the relief from his voice.